EP2775019B1

EP2775019B1 - Flatbed knitting machine equipped with movable sinker

Info

Publication number: EP2775019B1
Application number: EP14020024.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Minoru Sonomura
Original assignee: Shima Seiki Mfg Ltd
Current assignee: Shima Seiki Mfg Ltd
Priority date: 2013-03-08
Filing date: 2014-03-06
Publication date: 2015-09-16
Anticipated expiration: 2034-03-06
Also published as: KR20140110746A; EP2775019A1; KR101569012B1; JP2014196586A; CN104032471B; CN104032471A; JP6234244B2

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a flatbed knitting machine equipped with movable sinkers, capable of being opened and closed, and further capable of pressing down a knitted fabric while closed.

Background Art

Conventionally, it has been known for a flatbed knitting machine that a sinker for forming a knitting stitch together with a knitting needle in a needle bed gap is made movable so as to be opened and closed (see, Patent Citations 1 and 2, for example). The movable sinker has a support receive part which is supported on a needle bed in the vicinity of the needle bed gap so as to be capable of rocking-displacement, a function arm which extends from the support receive part in the direction of making closer to the needle bed gap, and a passive arm which extends from the support receive part in the direction of being farther from the needle bed gap. The support receive part is formed into a circular arc form and fitted into a support part recessed in a circular arc form provided on the needle bed, and a center of the circular arc of the support receive part is a virtual rocking support point. The movable sinker is also provided with a torque spring, which has a curved portion being accommodated in a space closer to the supporting point at the inner side relative to the support receive part, and which biases the function arm in the direction of advancing to the needle bed gap. A yarn receiving portion is provided on the function arm in the vicinity of the leading end thereof, and has a function of pressing down a knitting stitch that has been knitted and droops downward from the needle bed gap.
When the knitted stitch is formed by making the knitting needle advance to the needle bed gap and supplying a knitting yarn to a hook, and so on, a sinker jack is used in order to cause the function arm to rock in the direction of retreating from the needle bed gap so as to make the sinker into the opened state. The sinker jack is driven by a cam mechanism that is mounted on a carriage travelling along the needle bed, and engages the passive arm of the sinker by an engaging part provided at the leading end side of the sinker jack. The engaging state has a margin, even in the closed state of the sinker, when the yarn receiving portion receives a reaction force from the knitted fabric, the function arm rocks in the direction of retreating from the needle bed gap against the biasing force by the torque spring so as to moderate the reaction force from the knitted fabric.
In the movable sinker as described in Patent Citation 1, one end of the torque spring is bonded to the function arm of the sinker and the other end side thereof is supported on the needle bed, so that the function arm is biased in the direction of advancing to the needle bed gap. In the opened state, the one end side of the torque spring makes closer to the other end side, so that the force acting on the torque spring is larger than that in the closed state. When the torque spring tries to obtain a large pressing force in the closed state of the sinker, there is a risk that a stress is too large in the opened state of the sinker.
In the movable sinker as described in Patent Citation 2, the leading edge part projecting in the direction of the bottom part of the needle bed is provided on the engaging portion of the sinker jack so as to support the other end side of the torque spring by the leading edge part at the side closer to the needle bed gap. When the sinker jack is made closer to the needle bed gap, the other end side of the torque spring is pressed by the leading edge part and the sinker is biased by the one end side of the torque spring, so that the sinker is made into the closed state so as to obtain a large pressing force. When the sinker jack is made farther from the needle bed gap, the passive arm is drawn by the leading edge part at the side farther from the needle bed gap and the sinker is made into the opened state. The side of the leading edge part, which is closer to the needle bed gap, no longer presses the other end side of the torque spring, so that the stress can be prevented from being too large in the opened state.

Citation List

Patent literature

Patent Citation 1: International Publication No. 05/012613
Patent Citation 2: International Publication No. 09/150825

Summary of Invention

Technical Problem

In the movable sinker as described in Patent Citation 2, the biasing on the torque spring in the closed state and the drawing of the passive arm in the opened state must be performed by the projecting leading edge part provided on the engaging portion of the sinker jack at the both sides closely positioned, that is, a front side near to the needle bed gap and a back side apart from the needle bed gap. Shapes of portions for the torque spring and the sinker, which receive action by the leading edge part of the sinker jack, are therefore restricted.
An object of the present invention, for a part of a movable sinker receiving actions from a sinker jack, is to provide a flatbed knitting machine equipped with the movable sinkers, each of which is capable of moderating shape restriction for a torque spring and a sinker even when stresses of the torque spring is prevented from being too large in a sinker opened state.

Solution to Problem

The present invention is a flatbed knitting machine equipped movable sinkers,
which are partly accommodated in accommodation parts formed to include a part of thin thickness parts having thicknesses smaller than thicknesses of needle plates are aligned at a leading end side of a needle bed facing a needle bed gap in a state where the sinkers are capable of rocking,
each sinker
has a curved function arm, on a leading end of which provided with a yarn receiving portion for pressing down a knitted fabric, extends into the needle bed gap,
a support receive part which is provided at the needle bed side and has an rocking support point, and
a passive arm which projects upward so as to be apart from a bottom part of the needle bed,
is made into a closed state where the function arm is biased in a direction of advancing to the needle bed gap by a torque spring, one end of which is bonded to the sinker and the other end receives a suppressing pressure from a suppressing part provided on a sinker jack, when the sinker jack is made to advance in a direction of making closer to the needle bed gap, and
is made into an opened state where a leading edge part, which is provided on the sinker jack at a leading end side and projects in a direction towards the bottom part of the needle bed, acts on the passive arm to retreat so that the function arm rocks in a direction of retreating from the needle bed gap when the sinker jack is made to retreat in a direction of being apart from the needle bed gap,
characterized in that
the passive arm of the sinker diverges from a portion between the support receive part and the function arm,
the suppressing part of the sinker jack
is provided at a position spaced from the leading edge part, and
suppresses the other end of the torque spring in the closed state of the sinker, and does not suppress the other end of the torque spring or suppresses it with a weakened force in the opened state of each sinker.
In the flatbed knitting machine equipped with the movable sinkers,
said suppressing part of said sinker jack is provided so as to project in a direction of making closer to said needle bed gap while being inclined downward towards the bottom part of said needle bed from a position apart from the needle bed gap relative to said leading edge part.
In the flatbed knitting machine equipped with the movable sinkers,
said torque spring has a shape which extends from said one end side in a direction of being apart from said needle bed gap and is folded back to the upper side so as to be apart from the bottom part of said needle bed such that the other end side returns in a direction of making closer to the needle bed gap, and
the other end side of the torque spring, which is folded back and makes closer to the needle bed gap, is suppressed downward towards the bottom part of the needle bed by the suppressing part of the sinker jack at a position closer to the needle bed gap relative to the rocking support point of the support receive part.
In the flatbed knitting machine equipped with the movable sinkers,
said passive arm of said sinker and said other end side of said torque spring extend upward in a direction of being apart from the bottom part of said needle bed, and are aligned so as to be spaced from each other such that the passive arm is located at a side closer to said needle bed gap and the other end of the torque spring is located at a side apart from the needle bed gap,
said sinker jack has a concave portion formed subsequent to said leading edge part and opened to a lower side towards the bottom part of the needle bed, and
a wall surface of the concave portion of the sinker jack at the side apart from the needle bed gap is set to be said suppressing part.
In the flatbed knitting machine equipped with the movable sinkers,
said support receive part has
a lower support receive part which projects, like a circular arc,- downward towards the bottom part of said needle bed, and is supported by a lower sinker support part formed on a lower portion of the accommodation part of said needle plate; and
an upper support receive part which projects, like a circular arc, upward in the direction of being apart from the bottom part of the needle bed with an offset to the thin thickness part side of the needle plate in a thickness direction, and is supported by an upper sinker support part formed on the thin thickness part, and
a rocking support point of the lower support receive part and a rocking support point of the upper support receive part are located on a common axis line.
In the flatbed knitting machine equipped with the movable sinkers according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein
said torque spring is bonded to said sinker integrally at said one end side.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, a passive arm of a sinker diverges from a portion between a support receive part and a function arm, when a sinker jack is made to retreat in a direction of being apart from a needle bed gap, the passive arm retreats by receiving an action by a leading edge part of the sinker jack, and the sinker rocks so as to be made into an opened state. In a closed state of the sinker, the other end of a torque spring, one end of which is boned to the sinker receives a suppressing pressure from a suppressing part provided on the sinker jack. The leading edge part and the suppressing part of the sinker jack that act on the passive arm of the sinker and the other end of the torque spring, respectively, are provided at positions spaced from each other, so that restriction for taking shape of the passive arm of the sinker and the shape of the other end of the torque spring can be moderated. The suppressing part is spaced from the leading edge part, so that the suppressing pressure by the suppressing part on the other end of the torque spring can be weakened in the sinker opened state, then in the sinker opened state, a stress acting on the torque spring can be prevented from being too large so as to be smaller than that in the closed state.
Further, according to the present invention, the sinker jack is provided with the suppressing part that projects in the direction of making closer to the needle bed gap from a position apart from the needle bed gap relative to the leading edge part so as to be inclined downward to the bottom part of the needle bed. The suppressing part suppresses the other end of the torque spring such that a downward component towards the bottom part of the needle bed is larger, so that the suppressing part can bias the sinker through the one end of the torque spring such that the function arm rocks in the direction of advancing to the needle bed gap. When a yarn receiving portion provided on the function arm of the sinker at the leading end side receives a reaction force from a knitted fabric in the needle bed gap, a force acting on the suppressing part of the sinker jack is generated from the other end of the torque spring. In the force, an upward component in the direction of being apart from the bottom part of the needle bed is large whereas a component in the direction of making the sinker jack retreat from the needle bed gap is small. It becomes difficult for the sinker jack to retreat from the needle bed gap even when the force acts on the suppressing part from the torque spring, so that the sinker can keep the closed state easily.
Further, according to the present invention, the torque spring has a shape that extends from the one end side in the direction of being apart from the needle bed gap and is folded back such that the other end returns in the direction of making closer to the needle bed gap. The length of the torque spring is long by being folded back, so that a stress can be prevented from being concentrated on the torque spring, and further, the direction in which the reaction force is applied to the sinker jack can be set such that the sinker jack is difficult to retreat in the direction of being apart from the needle bed gap.
Further, according to the present invention, the sinker jack has a concave portion, formed subsequent to the leading edge part, which opens to the lower side towards the bottom part of the needle bed. The wall surface of the concave portion at the side apart from the needle bed gap is set to be the suppressing part, so that, when the width of the concave portion in the direction of advancing to and retreating from the needle bed gap is increased, the other end of the torque spring and the passive arm of the sinker can be separated from each other, so as to moderate the restriction of the shapes of the torque spring and the sinker.
Further, according to the present invention, the support receive part of the sinker is provided with a lower support receive part and an upper support receive part, so that rocking of the sinker is restricted from the lower side towards the bottom surface of the needle bed and from the upper side apart from the bottom surface so as to suppress positional deviation at the time of the rocking. The upper support receive part is offset from the lower support receive part in the thickness direction, so that the upper support receive part can be supported by a lower sinker support part formed on a lower portion of an accommodating part of a needle plate and an upper sinker support part formed on a thin thickness part.
Further, according to the present invention, restriction of the shapes of the torque spring and the sinker is moderated, so that the one end of the torque spring can be integrated with a portion between the function arm and the support receive part of the sinker easily.

Brief Description of Drawings

[Fig. 1] Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) are side cross-sectional views showing a schematic structure and operations of a flatbed knitting machine 1 equipped with movable sinkers 10 as an example 1 of the present invention.
[Fig. 2] Fig. 2 is a side view showing shapes of a sinker 11, a sinker jack 12, and a torque spring 13 constructing the movable sinker 10 in Figs. 1(a) and 1(b), and shapes of a base board 4 and a needle plate 5 constructing a needle bed 3.
[Fig. 3] Figs. 3(a) and 3(b) are side cross-sectional views showing a schematic construction and operations of a flatbed knitting machine 21 equipped with movable sinkers 30 as an example 2 of the present invention.
[Fig. 4] Fig. 4 is a side view showing shapes of a sinker 31, a sinker jack 32, and a torque spring 33 constructing the movable sinker 30 in Figs. 3(a) and 3(b), and shapes of a base board 24 and a needle plate 25 constructing a needle bed 23.
[Fig. 5] Figs. 5(a) and 5(b) are side cross-sectional views showing a schematic construction and operations of a flatbed knitting machine 41 equipped with movable sinkers 50 as an example 3 of the present invention.
[Fig. 6] Fig. 6 is a side view showing shapes of a sinker 51, a sinker jack 52, and a torque spring 53 constructing the movable sinker 50 in Figs. 5(a) and 5(b), and shapes of a base board 44 and a needle plate 45 constructing a needle bed 43.
[Fig. 7] Figs. 7(a) and 7(d) are a partial cross-sectional view and a side view showing shapes of a lower support receive part 51a and an upper support receive part 51g provided on the sinker 51 in Figs. 5(a) and 5(b), and a side view and a partial cross-sectional view showing shapes of a lower sinker support part 45d and an upper sinker support part 45e provided on the needle plate 45.

Description of Embodiments

Hereinafter, Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) and Fig. 2 show the construction and operations of a flatbed knitting machine 1 equipped with movable sinkers 10 as an example 1 of the present invention. Figs. 3(a) and 3(b) and Fig. 4 show the construction and operations of a flatbed knitting machine 21 equipped with movable sinkers 30 as an example 2 of the present invention. Figs. 5(a) and 5(b), Fig. 6, and Figs. 7(a) and 7(d) show the construction and operations of a flatbed knitting machine 41 equipped with movable sinkers 50 as an example 3 of the present invention. Components of the example 1, the example 2, and the example 3 that correspond to one another are denoted by reference numerals that are incremented by 20. In description of the example 2 and the example 3, overlapped description of components corresponding to those in the example 1 is omitted. Further, components that are not shown in the drawing as a description target are referred by using reference numerals as shown in other drawings in some cases.
Although a needle bed 3, 23, 43 as shown in Figs. 1(a) and 1(b), Figs. 3(a) and 3(b), and Figs. 5(a) and 5(b) are inclined so as to be higher at the side of a needle bed gap 2, 22, 42 and be lower at the side apart from the needle bed gap 2, 22, 42 actually, the needle bed 3, 23,43 is shown in a horizontal posture for the convenience of description. The direction of being apart from the bottom part of the needle bed 3, 23,43 is indicated as the upward direction, and the direction towards the bottom part is indicated as the downward direction. In the flatbed knitting machine 1, 21, 41, at least one pair of needle beds 3, 23, 43 are provided to be opposed to each other between the needle bed gap 2, 22, 42, but only the single needle bed 3, 23, 43 is shown. Construction components relating to the movable sinker 10, 30, 50 are mainly shown in the drawings and other construction components, in particular, components behind other components are omitted in some cases.

Example 1

Figs. 1(a) and 1(b) show a schematic construction and operations of a flatbed knitting machine 1 equipped with movable sinkers 10 as an example 1 of the present invention in a closed state (Fig. 1(a)) and in an opened state (Fig. 1(b)) respectively. In the flatbed knitting machine 1, a needle bed 3 is formed by arranging needle plates 5 on a base board 4 in parallel for knitting a knitted fabric at a side of a needle bed gap 2. Needle grooves 6 are formed between the needle plates 5 arranged in parallel at a constant pitch in the direction perpendicular to the paper plane on which the figures are drawn. The base board 4 and the needle plates 5 are positioned by a wire 7 penetrating through in the direction perpendicular to the paper plane. In each needle grooves 6, a knitting needle 8 is accommodated. The knitting needle 8 as shown in the figure is a compound needle having a construction in which a hook provided at the leading end of a needle body 8a at the needle bed gap 2 side is opened and closed with a tongue provided at the leading end of a slider 8b at the needle bed gap 2 side. Alternatively, a latch needle having a construction in which a hook is opened and closed by a latch can be also used for the knitting needle 8.
The movable sinker 10 includes a sinker 11, a sinker jack 12, and a torque spring 13. The sinker 11 and the torque spring 13 are integrated. The plurality of movable sinkers 10 are provided so as to be aligned on the needle bed 3 at the leading end side, which faces the needle bed gap 2. Each sinker 11 has a support receive part 11a, a function arm 11b which extends so as to be curved from the support receive part 11a to the needle bed gap 2 side, and a passive arm 11c which is provided at the side apart from the needle bed gap 2 and projects upward. One end 13a of the torque spring 13 is bonded to a portion between the support receive part 11a and the passive arm 11c integrally and the other end 13b of the torque spring 13 extends to the sinker jack 12 side.
The circular arc-like outer circumference of the support receive part 11a is fitted into a circular arc-like concave portion provided on the needle bed 3 in the vicinity of the needle bed gap 2 so as to be supported in a rocking-displaceable manner. The movable sinker 10 can be switched between a closed state where the function arm 11b advances to the needle bed gap 2 and an opened state where the function arm 11b retreats from the needle bed gap 2. A sinker cam mounted on a carriage reciprocating along the needle bed 3 drives the sinker jack 12 advancing to and retreating from the needle bed gap 2 so as to perform the switching. In the closed state, the sinker jack 12 advances to the needle bed gap 2 side and presses the other end 13b of the torque spring 13, so that the function arm 11b of the sinker 11 is biased to rock in the direction of advancing to the needle bed gap 2 side.
A slide resistance piece 12a is attached to the sinker jack 12 so as to generate slide resistance between the slide resistance piece 12a and the side surface of the needle plate 5 when the sinker jack 12 is accommodated in the needle groove 6 and is moved. Further, a butt 12b receiving an action of the cam mounted on the carriage is also provided on the sinker jack 12. As the cam mounted on the carriage, a cam as shown in Fig. 10 in Patent Citation 2 can be used, for example. In addition, the sinker jack 12 is provided with a leading edge part 12c projecting downward at a position closer to the front leading edge. When the sinker jack 12 is made to retreat in the direction of being apart from the needle bed gap 2 as shown in Fig. 1(b) from Fig. 1(a), the leading edge part 12c presses the leading end of the passive arm 11c from the needle bed gap 2 side and acts such that the sinker 11 is made into the opened state. Further, provided is a suppressing part 12d projecting in a direction of making closer to the needle bed gap 2 while being inclined downward from a position spaced from the leading edge part 12c in the direction of being apart from the needle bed gap 2.
In the closed state, the leading end of the suppressing part 12d suppresses the other end 13b of the torque spring 13. The downward component is larger among directions in which the leading end of the suppressing part 12d suppresses the other end 13b of the torque spring 13. The torque spring 13 biases the sinker 11 through the one end 13a such that the function arm 11b rocks in the direction of advancing to the needle bed gap 2 side. A reaction force, received through the torque spring 13 by the function arm 11b that presses the knitted fabric in the closed state, is applied to the suppressing part 12d of the sinker jack 12 from the other end 13b of the torque spring 13. The upward component is larger in the reaction force, so that the component of the force of returning the sinker jack 12 in the direction of being apart from the needle bed gap 2 becomes smaller. Accordingly, when the sinker 11 is set to be in the closed state by the cam mounted on the carriage, the sinker jack 12 can be made it hard to retreat from the needle bed gap 2 even when it receives the reaction force from the other end 13b of the torque spring 13 after the carriage passes.
The suppressing part 12d of the sinker jack 12 is formed such that it is separated from the other end 13b of the torque spring 13 so as to be made into a non-contact state, or a suppressing pressure thereof is weak even when the suppressing part 12d makes contact the other end 13b of the torque spring 13 in the opened state as shown in Fig. 1(b). Even when the suppressing part 12d suppresses the other end 13b of the torque spring 13 with a force that is necessary for the function arm 11b to press down the knitted fabric in the closed state of the sinker 11, the suppressing pressure is moderated in the opened state, so that a stress acting on the torque spring 13 can be prevented from being too large. In the closed state, the other end 13b of the torque spring 13 is suppressed by the suppressing part 12d of the sinker jack 12 whereas the one end 13a thereof causes the function arm 11b to rock in the direction of advancing to the needle bed gap 2 side through an integrated portion between the support receive part 11a and the passive arm 11c of the sinker 11. The suppressing part 12d and the leading edge part 12c of the sinker jack 12 need not make closer to each other, so that restriction for the shapes of the sinker 11 and the torque spring 13 can be moderated.
A metal band 15 penetrating through in the direction perpendicular to the paper plane presses the sinker jack 12 so as not to float in the direction of being apart from the bottom part of the needle bed 3. In the opened state as shown in Fig. 1(b), a wire 16 penetrating through in the direction perpendicular to the paper plane is provided as a stopper for the sinker jack 12 when retreats in the direction of being apart from the needle bed gap 2.
Fig. 2 shows shapes of the sinker 11, the sinker jack 12, and the torque spring 13 constructing the movable sinker 10 in Figs. 1(a) and 1(b), and the base board 4 and the needle plate 5 constructing the needle bed 3.
The support receive part 11a of the sinker 11 rocking-displaces while a virtual center of the circular arc-like outer circumference is set to an rocking support point 11f. The function arm 11b has a yarn receiving portion 11d. The leading edge part 12c and the suppressing part 12d of the sinker jack 12 can be provided at the separated positions.
The torque spring 13 has a shape extending from the one end 13a beyond the support receive part 11a in the direction of being apart from the function arm 11b and being folded back to the upper side such that the other end 13b returns to the function arm 11b side. The other end 13b that is folded back is suppressed downward by the suppressing part 12d of the sinker jack 12 at a position closer to the needle bed gap 2 relative to the rocking support point 11f of the support receive part 11a. The folding between the one end 13a and the other end 13b can be made by providing a curved portion 13c. The curved portion 13c is not required to be accommodated in the inner side of the support receive part 11a of the sinker 11 and can have a shape extending to the rear side apart from the needle bed gap 2 relative to the rocking support point 11f such that a stress is not concentrated.
To the needle plate 5, that is plate-like, a thin thickness part 5b is provided above a thick thickness part 5a on a lower portion so as to be formed to have a reduced plate thickness, and an accommodating part 5c that accommodates the sinker 11 and the sinker jack 12 is provided in a space next to the thin thickness part 5b. A sinker support part 5d is formed on a lower portion of the accommodating part 5c and supports the support receive part 11a of the sinker 11 on the circular arc-like inner circumference thereof. The sinker support part 5d is formed so as to penetrate a boundary part from the thick thickness part 5a to the thin thickness part 5b in the thickness direction. A metal band through-hole 5f is formed on the thin thickness part 5b. The thick thickness part 5a of the needle plate 5 is inserted into a groove formed on the base board 4 to be fixed.
Each sinker 11 has the torque spring 13. The torque spring 13 may have a shape that is different from that in the present embodiment as long as it can generate a torque to bias the sinker 11 so as to rock in the direction of advancing to the needle bed gap 2. For example, as in Patent Citations 1, 2, the torque spring 13 may have a shape that the curved portion is accommodated in the inner side of the support receive part 11a. As in the present embodiment, when the sinker 11 and the torque spring 13 are integrated, the torque spring 13 is required to be formed with a plate material that is the same as the sinker 11, but the number of parts constructing each movable sinker can be reduced and the number of assembling processes can be reduced. Even when the torque spring 13 and the sinker 11 are formed as separate bodies as in Patent Citations 1 ,2, the same state as that in the present embodiment can be made by bonding the torque spring 13 and the sinker 11 at a location where the one end 13a is integrated with the sinker 11 in the present embodiment. An elastic material that is different from that of the sinker 11 can be used for the torque spring 13, and a wire rod may be also used to form a wire spring as the torque spring 13.

Example 2

Figs. 3(a) and 3(b) show a schematic construction and operations of a flatbed knitting machine 21 equipped with movable sinkers 30 as an example 2 of the present invention in a closed state (Fig. 3(a)) and in an opened state (Fig. 3(b)) respectively. In the present embodiment, though a curved portion 33c of a torque spring 33 is accommodated in the inner side of a support receive part 31a of a sinker 31, the other end 33b of the torque spring 33 can be suppressed in the closed state by a suppressing part 32d located at a position apart from a needle bed gap 22 relative to an action position between a passive arm 31c of the sinker 31 and a leading edge part 32c of a sinker jack 32. That is to say, one concave portion 32e, subsequent to the leading edge part 32c, is formed in the vicinity of the leading edge of the sinker jack 32 and opens downside. The concave portion 32e is formed such that a space between the leading edge part 32c at the side apart from the needle bed gap 22, which corresponds to the front wall surface of the concave portion 32e, and the suppressing part 32d corresponding to the rear wall surface of the concave portion 32e is larger than the width of the passive arm 31c in the direction of advancing to and retreating from the needle bed gap 22.
In the opened state, the sinker jack 31 retreats in the direction of being apart from the needle bed gap 22 and the leading edge part 32c thereof acts on the passive arm 31 c so as to make the sinker 31 to rock in the counterclockwise direction. The other end 33b of the torque spring 33 also retreats in the direction of being apart from the needle bed gap 22, but at this time the suppressing part 32d also retreats, so that the suppressing pressure is not increased. The other end 33b of the torque spring 33 rocks to retreat in a circular arc form and to be supported by the support receive part 31a so that the suppressing pressure that the other end 33b of the torque spring 33 receives from the suppressing part 32d retreating linearly is rather decreased and the stress acting on the torque spring 33 is prevented from being too large.
Fig. 4 shows shapes of the sinker 31, the sinker jack 32, and the torque spring 33 constructing the movable sinker 30 in Figs. 3(a) and 3(b), and a base board 24 and a needle plate 25 constructing a needle bed 23.
There is a restriction for the shapes in a point that the curved portion 33c of the torque spring 33 is accommodated in the inner side of the support receive part 31a of the sinker 31, but the other end 33b can be located at a rear position apart from the needle bed gap 22 relative to the passive arm 31c of the sinker 31, so that the restriction for the shapes are moderated in comparison with that in Fig. 3 in Patent Citation 2. The leading edge part 32c and the suppressing part 32d of the sinker jack 32 are formed in one concave portion 32e, as front and rear wall surfaces in the direction of advancing to and retreating from the needle bed gap 22, so that the shape can be simplified so as to achieve easiness in manufacturing. Also in the present embodiment, the torque spring 33 and the sinker 31 may be formed as separate bodies and the one end of the torque spring 33 may be bonded to the sinker 31.

Example 3

Figs. 5(a) and 5(b) show a schematic construction and operations of a flatbed knitting machine 41 equipped with movable sinkers 50 as an example 3 of the present invention in a closed state (Fig. 5(a)) and in an opened state (Fig. 5(b)) respectively. In the present embodiment, rocking of a sinker 51 is supported by a lower support receive part 51a corresponding to the support receive part 11a in the example 1 as well as an upper support receive part 51g. The upper support receive part 51g is provided, so that a space cannot be provided in the inner side of the lower support receive part 51a, and one end 53a of a torque spring 53 is therefore made to diverge from the lower support receive part 51a at a position apart from a needle bed gap 42 relative to the upper support receive part 51 g. A function arm 51 b and a passive arm 51 c are made to diverge from a position of the lower support receive part 51a, which is closer to the needle bed gap 42.
Fig. 6 shows shapes of the sinker 51, a sinker jack 52, and the torque spring 53 constructing the movable sinker 50 in Figs. 5(a) and 5(b), and a base board 44 and a needle plate 45 constructing a needle bed 43. The sinker 51 has the circular arc-like lower support receive part 51a, projecting in the direction towards the bottom part of the needle bed 43, and the circular arc-like upper support receive part 51g, projecting in the direction of being apart from the bottom part of the needle bed 43. The lower support receive part 51a and the upper support receive part 51g, rock around rocking support points 51f, 51h, respectively. The needle plate 45 is provided with a circular arc-like lower sinker support part 45a into which the lower support receive part 51a is fitted, on the boundary between a thick thickness part 45a and a thin thickness part 45b. A circular arc-like upper sinker support part 45g, into which the upper support receive part 51g is fitted, is provided so as to penetrate through the thin thickness part 45b of the needle plate 45. Centers 45h, 45i of the circular arcs of the lower sinker support part 45d and the upper sinker support part 45g are provided on a common axis line. An offset is provided between the lower support receive part 51a and the upper support receive part 51g of the sinker 51 in the thickness direction, and the rock support points 51f, 51h are provided on the common axis line 51i, when the lower sinker support part 45d and the upper sinker support part 45g support the lower support receive part 51a and the upper support receive part 51g respectively, the centers 45h, 45i of the circular arcs are also located on an axis line 51f.
Concerning the sinker 51, radii from the rocking support points 51f, 51h to the outer circumferences of the lower support receive part 51a and the upper support receive part 51g are assumed to Ra and Rg, respectively, radii from the centers 45h, 45i of the circular arcs to the inner circumferences of the lower sinker support part 45a and the upper sinker support part 45g for the needle plate 45 become Ra and Rg, respectively. As in the example 1, even when the support receive part 11a corresponding to the lower support receive part 51a in the present embodiment is supported by the sinker support part 5d corresponding to the lower sinker support part 45d, the upper portion of the sinker 11 is supported by the sinker jack 12, which is suppressed from upward by a metal band 15. Suppression to the sinker jack 12 from upward by the metal band 15 is insufficient as suppression to the support receive part 11a through the sinker jack 12, because it is necessary for the sinker jack 12 to be capable of sliding to advance to and retreat from the needle bed gap 2. In addition, suppression to the sinker 11 does not only become insufficient, but also it is probable for the torque spring 13 to bend, so that positional displacement might be is generated such as the support receive part 11a to float upward from the sinker support part 5a of the needle plate 5. In the present embodiment, the upper sinker support part 45g of the needle plate 45 presses the upper support receive part 51g of the sinker 51 from the upper side, so that positional displacement to upward, generated to the sinker 51 while rocking, can be suppressed.
Figs. 7(a) and 7(b) show a partial cross-sectional shape and a side shape of the lower support receive part 51 a and the upper support receive part 51g provided on the sinker 51 in Figs. 5(a) and 5(b), respectively. Figs. 7(c) and 7(d) show a side shape and a partial cross-sectional shape of the lower sinker support part 45d and the upper sinker support part 45g provided on the needle plate 45, respectively. Fig. 7(a) shows a cross section cut along a cross-sectional line A-A in Fig. 7(b). Fig. 7(d) illustrates a cross section cut along a cutting-plane line D-D in Fig. 7(c).
As shown in Fig. 7(a), the upper support receive part 51g is formed by offset bending process so as to be deviated from the lower support receive part 51a in the thickness direction as the direction of the axis line 51i. With this, as shown in Fig. 7(d), the upper sinker support part 45g can be formed on the thin thickness part 45b of the needle plate 45. If the offset bending is not performed, the upper sinker support part 45g should be also formed on the thick thickness part 45a and manufacturing of the needle plate 45 becomes complicated.

Reference Signs List

1, 21, 41: Flatbed knitting machine
2, 22, 42: Needle bed gap
3, 23, 43: Needle bed
4, 24, 44: Base board
5, 25, 45: Needle plate
5b, 25b, 45b: Thin thickness part
5c, 25c, 45c: Accommodating part
5d, 25d: Sinker support part
10, 30, 50: Movable sinker
11, 31, 51: Sinker
11a, 31a: Support receive part
11b, 31b, 51b: Function arm
11c, 31c, 51c: Passive arm
11f, 31f, 51f, 51h: Rocking support point
12, 32, 52: Sinker jack
12c, 32c, 52c: Leading edge part
12d, 32d, 52d: Suppressing par
13, 33 , 53: Torque spring
13a, 33a, 53a: One end
13b, 33b, 53b: Other end
45d: Lower sinker support part
45g: Upper sinker support part
51a: Lower support receive part
51i: Axis line
51g: Upper support receive part

Claims

A flatbed knitting machine (1, 21, 41) equipped with movable sinkers (10, 30, 50),
which are partly accommodated in accommodation parts (5c, 25c, 45c) formed to include a part of thin thickness parts (5b, 25b, 45b) having thicknesses smaller than thicknesses of needle plates (5, 25, 45) are aligned at a leading end side of a needle bed (3, 23, 43) facing a needle bed gap (2, 22, 42) in a state where the sinkers (11, 31, 51) are capable of rocking,
each sinker (11, 31, 51)
has a curved function arm (11b, 31b, 51b), on a leading end of which provided with a yarn receiving portion (11d, 31d, 51d) for pressing down a knitted fabric, extends into the needle bed gap (2, 22, 42),
a support receive part (11a, 31a, 51a; 51g) which is provided at the needle bed (3, 23, 43) side and has a rocking support point (11f, 31f, 51f; 51h), and
a passive arm (11c, 31c, 51c) which projects upward so as to be apart from a bottom part of the needle bed (3, 23, 43),
is made into a closed state where the function arm (11b, 31 b, 51 b) is biased in a direction of advancing to the needle bed gap (2, 22, 42) by a torque spring (13, 33, 53), one end (13a, 33a, 53a) of which is bonded to the sinker (11, 31, 51) and the other end (13b, 33b, 53b) receives a suppressing pressure from a suppressing part (12d, 32d, 52d) provided on a sinker jack (12, 32, 52), when the sinker jack (12, 32, 52) is made to advance in a direction of making closer to the needle bed gap (2, 22, 42), and
is made into an opened state where a leading edge part (12c, 32c, 52c), which is provided on the sinker jack (12, 32, 52) at a leading end side and projects in a direction toward the bottom part of the needle bed (3, 23, 43), acts on the passive arm (11c, 31c, 51c) to retreat so that the function arm (11b, 31b, 51b) rocks in a direction of retreating from the needle bed gap (2, 22, 42) when the sinker jack (12, 32, 52) is made to retreat in a direction of being apart from the needle bed gap (2, 22, 42),
characterized in that
the passive arm (11c, 31c, 51c) of the sinker (11, 31, 51) diverges from a portion between the support receive part (11a, 31a, 51a; 51g) and the function arm (11b, 31b, 51b),
the suppressing part (12d, 32d, 52d) of the sinker jack (12, 32, 52)
is provided at a position spaced from the leading edge part (12c, 32c, 52c), and
suppresses the other end (13b, 33b, 53b) of the torque spring (13, 33, 53) in the closed state of the sinker (11, 31, 51), and does not suppress the other end (13b, 33b, 53b) of the torque spring (13, 33, 53) or suppresses it with a weakened force in the opened state of each sinker (11, 31, 51).
The flatbed knitting machine (1, 41) equipped with the movable sinkers (10, 50) according to Claim 1, wherein
said suppressing part (12d, 52d) of said sinker jack (12, 52) is provided so as to project in a direction of making closer to said needle bed gap (2, 42) while being inclined downward towards the bottom part of said needle bed (3, 43) from a position apart from the needle bed gap (2, 42) relative to said leading edge part (12c, 52c).
The flatbed knitting machine (1, 41) equipped with the movable sinkers (10, 50) according to Claim 2, wherein
said torque spring (13, 53) has a shape which extends from said one end (13a, 53a) side in a direction of being apart from said needle bed gap (2, 42) and is folded back to the upper side so as to be apart from the bottom part of said needle bed (3, 43) such that the other end (13b, 53b) side returns in a direction of making closer to the needle bed gap (2, 43), and
the other end (13b, 53b) side of the torque spring (13, 43), which is folded back and makes closer to the needle bed gap (2, 42), is suppressed downward towards the bottom part of the needle bed (3, 43) by the suppressing part (12d, 52d) of the sinker jack (12, 52) at a position closer to the needle bed gap (2, 42) relative to the rocking support point (11f, 51f; 51h) of the support receive part (11a, 51a; 51g)
The flatbed knitting machine (21) equipped with the movable sinkers (30) according to Claim 1, wherein
said passive arm (31c) of said sinker (31) and said other end (33b) side of said torque spring (33) extend upward in a direction of being apart from the bottom part of said needle bed (23), and are aligned so as to be spaced from each other such that the passive arm (31c) is located at a side closer to said needle bed gap (22) and the other end (33b) of the torque spring (33) is located at a side apart from the needle bed gap (32),
said sinker jack (32) has a concave portion (32e) formed subsequent to said leading edge part (32c) and opened to a lower side towards the bottom part of the needle bed (23), and
a wall surface of the concave portion (32e) of the sinker jack (32) at the side apart from the needle bed gap (22) is set to be said suppressing part (32d).
The flatbed knitting machine (41) equipped with the movable sinkers (50) according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein
said support receive part (51a, 51g) has
a lower support receive part (51a) which projects, like a circular arc,- downward towards the bottom part of said needle bed (43), and is supported by a lower sinker support part (45d) formed on a lower portion of the accommodation part (45c) of said needle plate (45); and
an upper support receive part (51g) which projects, like a circular arc, upward in the direction of being apart from the bottom part of the needle bed (43) with an offset to the thin thickness part (45b) side of the needle plate (45) in a thickness direction, and is supported by an upper sinker support part (45g) formed on the thin thickness part (45b), and
a rocking support point (51f) of the lower support receive part (51a) and an rocking support point (51h) of the upper support receive part (51g) are located on a common axis line (51i).
The flatbed knitting machine (1, 21, 41) equipped with the movable sinkers (10, 30, 50) according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein
said torque spring (13, 33, 53) is bonded to said sinker (11, 31, 51) integrally at said one end (13a, 33a, 53a) side.